Rider leaves his mark

Saturday

Jan 26, 2013 at 12:15 PMJan 26, 2013 at 2:43 PM

Mark Smoot's friends recall a very loyal, brave man who lost his life on his bike

By Cheeto Barreraeditor@ridgecrestca.com

When life handed Mark Smoot lemons, he didn't make lemonade — he traded them in for a hog.His life wasn't easy — lost his father when he was 13, divorced from his wife and moved to a place where he didn't know anyone — but Mark made the most of it."He had been through a lot of lows in his life. Then he got his bike. He said you either buy it and look at it, or you ride," recalls Mark's girlfriend Viola Owens. "He said that with this in his heart, it changed a lot of his personality and life perspective. He no longer sat on the sidelines, he got in the game."Mark picked up a helmet, got on his Harley and started to ride. The ride brought him into a group of people who are forever marked by their friend.And on Monday morning, just after midnight, the ride took his life."He had just recently had said to me, when he goes, he hopes he has his boots on," Owens said. "Well he certainly did. He died doing what he loved the most: Riding his bike."Mark was found early Monday morning off the roadway along Athel Avenue in Inyokern. He was rushed to Ridgecrest Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead just before 2 a.m.According to the California Highway Patrol, he had failed to negotiate a curve, crashing his 2007 Harley Davidson.Just as his father had some 27 years before him, Mark's two children — Christopher and Emily — suffered the loss of their father thanks to a traffic accident.Mark always kept his father close to him, smoking the same pipe his father smoked.He was born in Bellflower on February 7, 1972 and lived in various cities along the West Coast, all the way up to Eagle River, Alaska.Mark graduated from University of Nevada, Reno in 2003 with a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering.Aside from riding his bike, Mark was also an outdoorsman, who loved to hunt and fish.An odd juxtaposition for a man who was an engineer and loved math.His loss locally was felt immediately. Tribute quotes went up on Facebook that very day, bidding homage to a fallen brother.Photos of the fallen brother were quickly posted as well.They were photos of a man enjoying life — cutting up with friends and always with a smile on his face."He was always happy to see you. He would give a little smile and he was always glad to see you. I think that's what I will miss the most about him," said Darryn Sizemore.Sizemore was Mark's sponsor into the Disturbed Motorcycle Club.He said when people join motorcycle clubs, they are not trying to be the same as everyone else."We are a group of people who so desperately want to not go along with the rest of the herd. Even in a crowd of people who stand out, he stood out," Sizemore said.Ownes agreed."Mark described his own personality to the song by Zac Brown, Chicken Fried. He said he was Redneck through and through. His personality was light hearted," Owens said. "I told him I am the oldest 12-year-old he would ever meet, his response was 'I am the oldest 8-year-old!'"He did have a responsible side.Mark worked at the Coso Geothermal Plant and quickly became someone to be counted on.Sizemore said Mark had the chance to move up north, but he refused because he enjoyed Inyokern and Ridgecrest so much.He also said Mark loved his children dearly, making standing plans to visit them in Nevada.And his loyalty to friends was unmatched."Friends were friends. Period. End of sentence," Sizemore said. "He proved it in his actions. … When the rent came due, he showed up."Ownes said one of the things she will remember the most was a hike they shared after a ride."My favorite memory would be a hike we took in Wildrose canyon. We saw some caves, so we just pulled over and went hiking, out in the middle of no where," Owens said. "We hiked to the top of a big hill, sat on top of the world and shared life experiences in solitude."Services for Mark were Friday in Reno. The motorcycle club he belonged to will remember him with a memorial ride this weekend.